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Sunday, September 18, 2011

"I want them to watch their hope sink to the bottom of the seas."~Riff Tamson

Part two of the TCW Season Four premier leaves me wondering, how exactly does a lightsaber work under water? Naturally the follow up question is, how do blaster bolts work under water? Really, I was a liberal arts major, where are the physics geeks when I need them? But let us suspend disbelief and wade into the currents of this episode.

"Only through fire is a strong sword forged."

Anakin Skywalker and the rest of his Jedi team have been overrun by the
Separatist surprise attacks led by Riff Tamson while Prince Lee-Char and
Ahsoka must evade capture on their own. Unable to summon more Republic
aid, Yoda calls upon the help of the powerful and amphibious Gungan
Grand Army, but whether they will be enough to stop the Separatist siege
is uncertain. An incensed Tamson doubles his efforts in tracking down
Prince Lee-Char, unleashing the reinforcements given to him by Count
Dooku in an assault that churns the oceans.

I loved the sound design of this episode. The sounds of the Aquadroids, the sound of the Republic Cruiser exploding and the "tink" noise the debris made as it was falling to the bottom of the sea, the whoosh of water, etc. The score was also very solid. It was really enhanced listening to it streaming over headphones as I could pick up some of sound details I lost through speakers.

The ScubaTroopers may be the coolest design for Clones we have gotten recently. I love the angles on the armor. I love, just love the look of the Republic Cruiser. Feast for the eyes. At this point TCW is so visually pleasing that it seems redundant to mention it every review, except for the fact that Joel Aron and the crew deserve so much credit for producing this look on a 22 minute "kids" show.

I can't believe that I made it through last episode's review without mentioning the smoothest Jedi this side of Mace Windu, that is right ladies I am talking about Kit "I hate Jedi robes, they itch" Fisto. I still can't believe how hard Kit gets punked by Palpatine in the Chancellor's arrest scene. Jedi Fail. Back to Gungan Attack however, Fisto is just cool, the Jamaican accent is a bit over the top, but that is Ok because he kicks butt and takes names in just about every episode he appears in. You just know that somewhere in the GFFA when Fisto is not protecting the galaxy, he is modeling for the cover of romance holos. Fisto and Prince Isolder are locked in a heated beauty contest to see who is the Fabio of the Star Wars Universe.

On the topic of every one's favorite species, the Gungans. Let me get this straight, not only do the Gungans have a great army, but apparently they have Jar Jar on their leadership council. How has this species not conquered the galaxy? Wouldn't the Gungans have died jumping all the way from the Republic
Cruiser to the surface of the ocean? Seemed like the ship was still
pretty high up. On the plus side, the Gungans really kicked some Hydroid Medussa tentacle.

The enslavement of the Mon Calamari is very in keeping with the future Galactic Empire and its enslavement of alien species, particularly the Wookiees after the conquest of Kashyyyk. While the Separatists are not the Empire, the idea that Dooku and then Palpatine would work out of the same playbook makes a ton of sense. The sad thing is that the Separatists only bound the Mon Cala with rubber bands, but just like the lobster, they just couldn't escape.

Anakin and Padme's secret marriage has to be the worst kept secret in the Republic. Here they are playfully flirting in front of Ahsoka, Kit Fisto and Senator Tills and no one notices.

There were some fun moments in this episode; Anakin showing some major Chosen One level Jedi powers bringing down the sensor building; Riff Tamson has his Scooby Doo Villain moment; and Prince Lee-Char doing his best Braveheart impression before all heck breaks loose.

The end of the episode was fun, it appeared that Ahsoka lost her shoto lightsaber, throwing it at Riff to save the Prince's life. Then Ahsoka goes all mature and sage like in her advice to the young Prince. Which inspires the Prince to exclaim, "I will unify Mon Cala again, I promise." This line from Prince Lee-Char reminded me a lot of General Douglas MacArthur's "I shall return," quote. Much like bad Sushi, I think Lee-Char is a fish we will see again.

I leave you this week with one final thought, did I really see Senator Tills and Jar Jar in a very "friendly" looking embrace? What do we have here?

Rating: Gungan Attack gets 7.5 awkward inter-species love connection hugs. It was a very solid episode, but clearly the middle part of a story and largely furthered the characters and plot we saw introduced in Water Wars, without a major "WOW" moment.

"Crowns are inherited, kingdoms are earned."

The Republic and Gungan forces have been captured by Riff Tamson and his
Karkarodon enforcers. Now, it is up to Ahsoka and the young Prince
Lee-Char to unite the fractured people of Mon Cala and drive out the
Separatist invaders.

In many ways the penultimate book in a large series is the most difficult to write. The author must begin the process of weaving th...

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